The Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) has made several new hires to help lead the company’s customer experience, marketing and communications, education and outreach, human resources, and third-party partnerships efforts.
Month: April 2020
Oscars change streaming rules amid battle for future of cinemas
The body behind the Oscars has changed its rules so films that debut on streaming or video on demand services are eligible for next year’s awards.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ current rules say films can only enter if they have been shown in a Los Angeles cinema for at least a week.
Read More: https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-52468176
PRS Says Its Emergency Relief Fund Has Raised Over $2.61 Million for Songwriters & Composers
Leading UK collection society PRS for Music has raised over $2.6 million (£2.1 million) for songwriters and composers through its Emergency Relief Fund.
PRS for Music officials announced the impressive earnings benchmark earlier this week. Thus far, $1.49 million (£1.2 million) of the Emergency Relief Fund has aided over 3,000 songwriters and composers, according to the rights group, which comes out to an average of about $497 per in-need individual.
Read More: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2020/04/29/prs-millions-support-covid/
Pan-European licensing hub ICE launches new self-service ‘Licensr’ tool
Pan-European licensing hub ICE has launched a new online self-service tool called Licensr that enables smaller online music services to get multi-territory coverage for use of the ICE Core repertoire “in a matter of minutes”.
Licensr allows users to select, pay for, and receive confirmation of a licence covering ICE Core repertoire (the ‘ICE Direct Licence’) in a quick and easy process that requires no prior knowledge of music licensing.
YouTube is generating $32k every minute – but how much of that money is being driven by music?
Alphabet/Google has announced its Q1 2020 results, and there’s some points of intrigue for the music business to chew over.
The standout number for record labels and publishers is YouTube’s advertising revenue, which in the three months to end of March hit $4.038bn – the equivalent of approximately $44.9m every day, or $32.0k every minute.
Spotify Continues Profiting from Human Misery
In case you missed it, the creator’s loss is Spotify’s gain. No, today is different than usual, because this time Spotify’s gain is not just tied to the misery of artists and songwriters, it’s actually tied to the whole world
Read More: https://artistrightswatch.com/2020/04/29/spotify-continues-profiting-from-human-misery/
PPL to make advance distribution payment of $29.7m in April
British music licensing company PPL has amended its annual payment schedule in order to bring forward part of its June distribution to support its members during the COVID-19 crisis.
On April 30, 2020, PPL will make an advance payment of £23.9 million (approximately $29.7m) to more than 15,000 performers and recording rightsholders.
Read More: https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/ppl-to-make-advance-distribution-payment-of-29-7m-in-april/
Writers Guild Advises Members on Next Steps After Court Ruling
“The agencies will be required to defend, in public, those practices that for decades they sought to keep private,” the WGA stated.
A day after a Los Angeles federal judge dismissed most of the Writers Guild of America’s claims in its lawsuit against the major agencies, the guild wrote a note to its members on its next steps.
Read More: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/writers-guild-advises-members-next-steps-court-ruling-1292324
SAG-AFTRA, Studios to Start Contract Talks Monday, Sidelining Writers Guild
The WGA had balked at May 11 talks after proposing that date itself.
Performers union SAG-AFTRA and major motion picture and television studios will commence bargaining on Monday ahead of a June 30 contract extension, the union and studio alliance said Friday in unexpected news.
Taylor Swift Surprised to Find Out She’s Released a New Album
Taylor Swift and her dedicated “Swifties” fanbase are up in arms over a new live-performance album that Swift’s former record label, Big Machine Records, has released.
Having been informed of Big Machine’s plan by fans, Swift vented about the release in an Instagram story; one of her diehard followers posted a copy of the message on Twitter. “This recording is from a 2008 radio show performance I did when I was 18,” Taylor wrote.
Read More: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2020/04/23/taylor-swift-surprised-to-find-out-about-new-album/
Studios Agree to May 11 Negotiations With Writers Guild
The scribes’ current contract will be extended to June 30, likely forcing an extension of SAG-AFTRA’s, as well.
Read More: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/studios-agree-may-11-negotiations-writers-guild-1290811
Copyright Office Posts Four Proposed Rules for MLC
The Copyright Office has posted notices of proposed rules on four topics: Confidential information, royalty reporting by MLC, the transparency of the MLC, and the notices and reporting.
Read More: https://musictechpolicy.com/2020/04/17/copyright-office-posts-four-proposed-rules-for-mlc/
SGAE ousts another president
There has been yet more drama at Spanish song rights collecting society SGAE, with the organisation’s President Pilar Jurado being pushed out.
According to El Pais, Spain’s culture ministry was alerted earlier this week by the society’s board of directors that a motion for Jurado’s removal had been submitted and would now be voted on. That vote occurred on Wednesday afternoon, ending Jurado’s term leading the embattled rights organisation.
Read More: https://completemusicupdate.com/article/sgae-ousts-another-president/
California Agrees to Amend AB5 Restrictions for Gigging Musicians
The California Legislature and leading music industry organizations have agreed to revise portions of Assembly Bill 5 (AB5). The modifications will make it easier for artists and industry professionals to collaborate while creating new music and performing.
Read More: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2020/04/17/california-agrees-to-amend-ab5-for-gigging-musicians/
Musicians to Be Exempt From California ‘Gig Economy’ Assembly Bill 5
Multiple music industry organizations announced today that an agreement has been reached with California Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez and Majority Leader Ian Calderon on pending amendments to California’s “Gig Economy” Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) that will provide relief to the majority of affected music professionals, including recording artists, musicians, composers, songwriters and vocalists. Upon the Legislature’s reconvening, amendments will change prior language in AB5 that created obstacles for music professionals securing work.
Writers Guild Unveils Updated Jobs Platform as Agency Fight Keeps Up
The guild said the online platform has more than 9,700 writer profiles.
The Writers Guild of America on Thursday debuted an enhanced online staffing and development platform to connect writers directly with showrunners, producers, and executives. The revamped platform features upgraded capabilities and an improved user experience to help writers find jobs, the guild said.
The Collective Corrective: UK Industry Leaders Weigh In on the Challenges Facing the MLC
Eamonn Forde speaks to Lucie Caswell, general manager and chief policy officer at the Music Publishers Association (MPA), and Jane Dyball, former head of the MPA and now founder of music/tech strategy and development company Laffittes, to hear their thoughts on the challenges facing the MLC (Mechanical Licensing Collective).
SOCAN Says All Its Songwriter Checks Will Arrive on Time — Unlike Some PROs
Despite a global pandemic that is wreaking havoc on public performance royalties worldwide, Canadian PRO giant SOCAN says its checks are getting mailed on time.
Read More: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2020/04/16/socan-songwriter-checks-on-time/
Directors Guild Extends Health Care Benefits for Members
The Directors Guild of America is offering three months of premium-free COBRA coverage for health plan participants with earned coverage scheduled to end on June 30.
SOCAN Chief Executive Eric Baptiste Abruptly Resigns After 10 Years
SOCAN has just revealed that its longtime CEO, Eric Baptiste, is stepping down after a decade-long tenure.
Read More: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2020/04/14/socan-chief-executive-eric-baptiste-resigns/
ASCAP Plot Thickens: Publishers Are Getting Their Checks — Songwriters Aren’t
More smoke is emanating from ASCAP HQ — and it doesn’t look good for songwriters.
Last week, we first reported on a leaked ASCAP memo sent to hundreds of thousands of members, one that pointed to serious disruptions in the US-based performance royalty marketplace. The letter, from CEO Elizabeth Matthews, described significant drops in collections due to COVID-19 shutdowns. It also warned that songwriter payments would be delayed by weeks.
Read More: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2020/04/13/ascap-publishers-songwriters-not-paid/
ASCAP Still Not Paying Their Songwriters — BMI Paid Everyone 3 Days Early
Businesses across America have only been closed for a few weeks — at most. So why can’t ASCAP pay their own songwriters on 2019 performances?
Read More: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2020/04/12/ascap-not-paying-songwriters-bmi-3-days-early/
Is Legal Sanity Being Restored? Federal Judge Tosses Copyright Lawsuit Against Josh Groban
A federal judge has tossed out Icelandic musician Jóhann Helgason’s copyright infringement lawsuit against the individual who composed “You Raise Me Up,” which was made popular by John Groban in 2003.
Read More: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2020/04/07/federal-judge-tosses-copyright-lawsuit-josh-groban/
COVID is Not an Excuse to Throw the Accepted Rules Out the Window: Copyright as the Canary in the Coalmine.
As I write we are in the depths of the COVID pandemic. Each day brings new and more frightening predictions of what is to come, what we all need to do to “bend the curve”, and how it is affecting people globally from both a health and economic perspective. The pandemic is a once-in-a-lifetime challenge to the increasingly globalized world in whiche have grown up, and could have long-term ramifications for the way we conduct ourselves and interact in future. Thus it is all the more important that the accepted and established rules governing our behavior be respected.
Universal Music Defeats Legal Claims Over Destroyed Recordings in Fire
A judge throws out claims by Tom Petty’s ex-wife.
Last June, many musicians were shocked to read a New York Times story about “the biggest disaster in the history of the music business.” The story explored a 2008 fire on NBCUniversal’s backlot and the extent of the damage. In the wake of this story came a putative class action from a few artists whose master recordings were feared to have been destroyed. Now, that lawsuit is on the verge of falling apart thanks to a California federal judge’s decision on Monday.
ASCAP Delays Writer Distributions for Weeks as Licensing Revenue Tanks
Performance rights giant ASCAP is now delivering some bleak news to member writers and publishers.
Perhaps this was inevitable, but PRO giant ASCAP is now feeling the serious ripple-effects of a shuttered United States. In a letter sent to members earlier this week — and shared with Digital Music News — ASCAP chief executive Elizabeth Matthews bluntly warned that “every category of ASCAP collections will be negatively impacted, including television, cable, radio, airlines, hotels, bars, grills and restaurants,” while seriously delaying a scheduled artist payout date of April 6th.
Read More: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2020/04/06/ascap-delays-revenue-covid/
ASCAP Delays Writer Distributions for Weeks as Licensing Revenue Tanks
Performance rights giant ASCAP is now delivering some bleak news to member writers and publishers.
Perhaps this was inevitable, but PRO giant ASCAP is now feeling the serious ripple-effects of a shuttered United States. In a letter sent to members earlier this week — and shared with Digital Music News — ASCAP chief executive Elizabeth Matthews bluntly warned that “every category of ASCAP collections will be negatively impacted, including television, cable, radio, airlines, hotels, bars, grills and restaurants,” while seriously delaying a scheduled artist payout date of April 6th.
Read More: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2020/04/06/ascap-delays-revenue-covid/
Judge Allows Universal Music Class-Action Lawsuit to Proceed; Suit Also Filed Against Sony Music
U.S. District Court judge allowed a class-action lawsuit filed against Universal Music Group (UMG) to proceed.
In February, five musicians submitted two class-action complaints claiming that Sony Music and Universal Music unlawfully denied them the opportunity to terminate (and regain control of) their copyrights approximately 35 years after the corresponding albums’ releases.
How Many Spotify Streams Do You Need To Live Above The Poverty Line?
Spotify streaming royalties often upset artists, but how many plays does a musician need to live above the poverty line? We did the math.
Read More: https://haulixdaily.com/2019/12/spotify-streams-poverty
Radio-BMI Dispute Has Settled. But Other Royalty Resolutions May Be Delayed.
A federal judge has signed off on the radio industry’s new deal with BMI, ending a three-year standoff between the Radio Music Licensing Committee and the performance rights organization. But specifics of the agreement won’t be known for another month. And far-reaching disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have delayed another radio royalty dispute and could postpone others that have been percolating in the courts.
DGA Members Approve Film and TV Contract By Overwhelming Margin
The members of the Directors Guild of America overwhelmingly approved the new collective bargaining agreement between the DGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), president Thomas Schlamme announced Friday.
Read More: https://www.thewrap.com/dga-members-approve-film-and-tv-contract-by-overwhelming-margin/
